The exemplary embodiment relates to a system and method for promoting environmentally-informed selection of printers for execution of print jobs. It finds particular application in conjunction with a network printing system in which multiple shared printers are available to users for printing their print jobs and will be described with particular reference thereto.
Network printing systems, in which print jobs can be selectively directed from a workstation to one of a group of shared devices, are now common. The network devices are typically printers or multifunction devices (MFDs), such as those with printing, copying and optionally faxing and email capability, all of which will be referred to as printers. A printer typically receives an incoming print job and places it in a queue with other print jobs and then prints them in order. Since demands for printing vary over time, the printers typically have two or more modes in which the printer is either capable of printing or capable of being automatically raised to a mode in which it is capable of printing. A printer may thus have at least two modes which consume power including a ready mode, in which the device is ready for printing, and a stand-by or automatic power saving mode. Generally, when the printer has been idle for a certain period of time, it automatically goes into the stand-by mode, with reduced power consumption. The wake-up process can be quite lengthy. Some printer models therefore provide different levels of “readiness” to maintain an acceptable balance between power consumption and wake-up time, and in some cases they provide self-adaptive power-mode management by measuring the daily periods when printers are typically being used, in order to anticipate the wake-up and the transition to ready mode.
For certain printers, the difference in power consumption between stand-by and ready modes is significant. For example, in the case of printers using solid ink technology, the ink is melted to convert it from a solid to a liquid prior to printing. In the ready mode, the ink is maintained at an increased temperature level, resulting in higher power consumption. The warm-up from stand-by to ready mode involves significant energy consumption to melt the solid ink and also consumes ink to clean the print heads. Once the warm-up has been completed, the printer is ready for operation and starts printing (generally, after a quick transition through an idle state). When printing ends, the printer enters the idle state where, in the case of solid ink printers, the ink is maintained in liquid form. If no new print job is submitted to the printer, it will eventually return to its stand-by mode.
Typically, print jobs are handled in such a way as to execute jobs as soon as possible. Print jobs are added to the printer's print queue and sent to the printer if the printer is in a ready mode or warming-up state. If the printer is in the stand-by mode, a command is sent to wake it up. In a situation where the printer is used infrequently, this may result in many daily wake-ups and periods when the printer is in the ready mode, waiting for another print job. This form of “eager” printing has the advantage that latency for users is minimal. In many cases, this may be the optimal behavior, but there are also many situations where users may be willing to accept a later printing, if this could lead to reduced consumption of power and/or consumables (e.g., ink, paper), and hence cost. For example, printing frequently occurs to prepare off-line reading material, to facilitate off-site working, to prepare meeting materials, and the like.
In addition users often have some choice in the printers that they use and can select options, such as whether to print in black and white or color, the type of paper to use, and so forth. In general, users do not have an understanding of how all these choices impact the environment or how they could carry out their printing in a manner which has less environmental impact while performing their work efficiently.